Maya Angelou Nominated for Grammy Award in Spoken Word

The Recording Academy announced yesterday the 50th annual Grammy Awards nominees for Best Spoken Word Album. The award is given for an audiobook, or a recording of poetry or storytelling, released between October 2006 and September 2007.

The finalists are Maya Angelou for her poetry collection Celebrations (Random House Audio, 2006), Bill Clinton for Giving:How Each of Us Can Change the World (Random House Audio, 2007), Barack Obama for The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Random House Audio, 2006), Jimmy Carter for Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bringing Peace to a Changing World (Simon & Schuster Audio, 2007), and Alan Alda for Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself (Random House Audio, 2007). The winner will be announced on February 10, 2008, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Grammy Awards are given annually by members of the Recording Academy to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency, and overall excellence in recording arts and sciences without regard to album sales or chart position.